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Elizabeth Smart, who was kidnapped at 14 and held against her will for 9 months, tells PEOPLE she was saddened to hear that Virginia Giuffre had died by suicide

Life was unfair to Giuffre, who was trafficked for sex to powerful men as a teenager, says Smart

Smart has a new book debuting in December about how to navigate life's challenges and detours

Like so many others, Elizabeth Smart was deeply shaken when she learned that Virginia Giuffre had died by suicide in April.

Opening up to PEOPLE in a recent interview, Smart, 38, says she felt “absolute heartbreak. I mean, we failed her. Really, we did. And I know everybody says life isn't fair. But for her, it really was not fair.”

After saying she was trafficked as a teenager to powerful men by the late financier Jef

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